1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photosensitive polymer and to a chemically amplified photoresist composition containing the same.
This application is a counterpart of, and claims priority to, Korean Application No. 99-31060, filed Jul. 29, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
As semiconductor devices become highly integrated, photolithography processes used in the fabrication of such devices must be capable of forming ultra-fine patterns. For example, a sub-quarter micron or smaller sized pattern is needed in a semiconductor memory device having a capacity exceeding 1 Gbit. As such, a photolithography technology has been proposed which employs an argon fluoride (ArF) excimer laser as a new type of light source. This is because the ArF laser exhibits a wavelength (193 nm) which is shorter than the wavelength (248 nm) of a conventional krypton fluoride KrF excimer laser. Therefore, a demand has arisen for chemically amplified photoresist polymers and photoresist compositions which are suitable for use with the ArF excimer laser.
In general, a chemically amplified photoresist composition for an ArF excimer laser should exhibit the following characteristics: (1) transparency at a wavelength of 193 nm; (2) excellent thermal properties (for example, high glass transition temperature); (3) good adhesion to underlying (and overlying) film materials; (4) high resistance to dry etching; and (5) easily capable of being developed using developing solutions which are in widespread use in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, for example, 2.38% by weight of tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH).
However, a terpolymer comprising methylmethacrylate, t-butyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid, which is a widely known chemically amplified photoresist polymer for the ArF excimer laser, does not exhibit all of the above-mentioned characteristics. In particular, the terpolymer has a very low resistance to dry etching, a low adhesion to underlying film materials and low wettability for a developing solution.
Recently, attempts have been made to increase the etching resistance of a photosensitive polymer for the ArF excimer laser by introducing alicyclic compounds, for example, isobornyl, adamantyl or tricyclodecanyl group, into the backbone of the polymers. However, these polymers also have several disadvantages. For example, their etching resistance is still not acceptable and their adhesion characteristics to underlying films are still poor, which results in lifting of photoresist patterns.